Mandelson joins attack on Short

Tony Blair's closest political ally, Peter Mandelson, today rounded on Clare Short, the international development secretary, in an effort to minimise the impact of her threat to resign over Iraq.

With Ms Short refusing to speak to reporters as she left for work, senior cabinet ministers led by Alan Milburn, expressed their "surprise" at her threat to leave her post if an attack were launched on Iraq without a second resolution.

But the intervention of Mr Mandelson will be seen by many as suggesting that Ms Short's cabinet career is now over, whether it ends by her resignation, or sacking by the prime minister.

Her stance comes as the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, prepares to brief MPs this afternoon on Friday's session at the UN security council.

Meanwhile Andy Reed, who quit as permanent private secretary to Margaret Beckett yesterday over the Iraq question, is due to post a personal statement on his website at 5pm, all of which will be high on the agenda when the prime minister is grilled on ITV1 by Trevor McDonald tonight.

Downing Street today revealed that Mr Blair had had "brief" conversations with Ms Short both last night and this morning, but pointedly refused to back her continuing in her post, saying merely that the PM "remains absolutely focused on the need to get a second UN resolution".

At lunchtime, Ms Short's critics were joined, perhaps most lethally, by Mr Mandelson, who queried why Ms Short had only now "discovered her principles".

The Hartlepool MP called Ms Short's remarks "extremely perplexing".

"I think people will ask why she is choosing to say this, why she is choosing to say it now, in such language," Mr Mandelson told the BBC World Service.

The former cabinet minister said it did not necessarily reflect a more widespread feeling among the government.

"It may be reflect something that is more personal to Clare," he said.

"If in respect of Iraq and the very difficult situation that we are facing, this is suddenly an issue of principle in her mind you are bound to ask why she should suddenly discover her principles on this matter on this particular Sunday afternoon when this particular BBC interview was recorded.

"I really can give no explanation for it."

Mr Mandelson said he had no doubt Ms Short did see it as an issue of conscience.

"All I am saying is why discover this on this particular Sunday afternoon and not the previous week? Or the previous month? Or the most recent time when she has had an opportunity to express those views personally and directly to the prime minister?"

Discussions with colleagues in the Commons suggested there was "no evidence of this being the tip of an iceberg", he added.

Earlier, Mr Milburn, told Sky News: "I'm surprised she's raised this right now when we are trying to get a second resolution. I'm surprised she's raised it with the media and not the prime minister who is working very hard to get a second resolution."

Mr Milburn's criticisms were echoed, almost word for word, by others such as Jack Cunningham and Beverley Hughes, suggesting that Downing Street, despite Mr Blair's apparent nonchalance, had formulated a uniform response to the crisis.

However, it became apparent this morning that Ms Short may have left herself some room for manoeuvre. Her exact comment last night was: "If there is not UN authority for military action, or if there is not UN authority for the reconstruction of the country, I will not uphold a breach of international law or this undermining of the UN, and I will resign from the government."

That may leave the option of staying in the cabinet if the UN votes for humanitarian aid once a conflict has begun.

Jack Cunningham, now a backbencher, rejected Ms Short's charge that the prime minister had been "reckless". He told Today: "Reckless means rash and lacking in caution and I just can't see how that charge can be laid at the prime minister's door.

Mr Cunningham said he hoped Ms Short's outburst would not encourage other sceptics to voice their concerns. "I hope, but that may be a consequence," he said.

"Colleagues should calm down and await the outcome of these discussions in the UN," he said.

Dr Cunningham suggested Ms Short's remarks had made war more likely.

"If people want the prime minister to succeed in avoiding the kind of military action that everyone finds repugnant they should be supporting him at the moment and not undermining him," he said.

"They should be remembering why we were all elected in 1997 and again a couple of weeks ago, which was to work for and support a Labour prime minister and a Labour government.

"I'm afraid there are one or two people around who never wanted Tony Blair to be leader of the Labour party in the first place who are, frankly, taking advantage of this for their own personal ends."

He added: "I think the prime minister is facing the worst political difficulties of his premiership, indeed of his whole leadership of the Labour party.

"I hope colleagues in the parliamentary Labour party will think again about what happened a couple of weeks ago and the rebellion and support him in his determination to try to get this matter resolved through the UN.

"The one person who must be smiling, if not laughing, at all of this, defying the international community, telling lies, covering up weapons programmes and defying international law again and again and again ... is Saddam Hussein."

But former defence minister and leading Labour rebel Peter Kilfoyle rejected suggestions that Ms Short had been self-indulgent.

"The worst self-indulgence is that within government which seems to be blind to public opinion in this country and the very, very heart-felt concerns of the governing party in the United Kingdom," he said.

"That is what I would describe as self-indulgent."

Mr Kilfoyle said a second resolution had become a "litmus test of the morality, if you like, of the government".

"Tony Blair has made it that way," he told the BBC.

"Many people fear that, quite apart from the issue of Iraq, we are faced here with the virtual denouement of the United Nations as the most effective forum in the world for resolving international disputes."

Even a narrow victory for Britain and the US at the UN might not persuade some critics, Mr Kilfoyle suggested.

But the chancellor, Gordon Brown, threw his weight firmly behind Mr Blair today, using a speech in London on economic reform in Europe to make his support for the prime minister clear.

Mr Brown said: "We know that the only way that he [Saddam] has considered disarming without war is the threat of being disarmed through war.

"And just as the Treasury stands ready to fund necessary defence and security commitments, the whole country should support Tony Blair in his determination to secure international agreement for a second UN resolution and for the disarmament of Saddam Hussein."

In a further suprise today, a Tory whip, John Randall, quit as a party whip over his party's stance on an attack on Iraq.